Hardwood for Open Concept Living

Open concept decorating can be overwhelming, challanging but most of all fun!

If your home has an open concept layout, try to determine natural boundaries of specific areas
within that open concept space.

If your kitchen features a bleached oak
cabinetry with warm, peach undertones, your floor choice in the adjoining family room may be matching
strip flooring, or reddish based, medium stained strip. Here you would need to consider all existing
furniture in your family room.

Your open concept home can look as good, as any
traditional layout homes. All you need is to know where to start.

If you have dark colored sofas, and prefer not to use the area rugs, (personally, I do not recommend
them on your hardwood, as they will change the color of your floor in the covered areas) to make the sofa
stand out in the room, you would need to choose a lighter color floor.

Perhaps, you are not as brave as some, and are not willing to install hardwood in your
kitchen. Obvious choice in this
situation would be a tile floor. Your
kitchen is probably smaller than other adjoining areas, normal course of action, would be to decide on
the style and design of the larger area, choosing your wood first and then working with it by picking a tile
that has the same tonal balance and color value as the wood that your chose.

If you prefer the
prefinished wood
product, this would be the way to go. However, if your heart is set on
custom stained wood floor, or if tile sellection available to you is not the greatest one... you may
choose to start with the tile, finding one that you like and then choosing a
custom stained floor that will
complement tile's colour and design.

It does not mean that the color of tiles must be the same as the color of wood. The tiles should be
pleasant to your eye when placed next to finished wood. If you like the color combination, go for it.
If it seams akward, or if you are not "really sure", keep looking for something else.

To better illustrate an open concept floor design solution we included an actual
case study from one of
recent jobs.

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